QuickStart

Who is Leadership Development QuickStart for?

The Leadership Development QuickStart experience is beneficial to new and seasoned professionals alike. You may walk into the program hesitant about your ability to guide a chapter or unsure where you will fit a leadership role into your already crazy schedule; both ways of thinking will benefit from the energy and confidence gained through this peer-lead workshop.

Providing The Tools for Leadership Legacy

Do you often wish there was a leadership toolkit? Or have you found yourself looking around in hopes of finding a personal entourage ready to encourage you along your PRSA way? If so, don’t let the name fool you, QuickStart is only a reference to the amount of time you’ll spend (a half-day, pre-conference workshop) but the confidence and information you’ll gain will last throughout your PRSA involvement.

What you will learn during the Leadership Development QuickStart Workshop:

Gain confidence in your personal leadership style

Network with other current and future PRSA chapter officers

Hear best practices in chapter growth, member retention, programming, awards, budgeting and more

Act Like You Mean Business: Lessons for Success From Stage and Screen
Rob Biesenbach; Actor, Author, Consultant; ChicagoDo you want to strengthen your business relationships, build trust, motivate teams and better present yourself in the workplace and the marketplace? The key is to treat every communication like a performance—every email, meeting, presentation, interview and networking event. In this engaging and informative presentation, you’ll learn about the vital link between show business and your business, and how you can take advantage of the techniques actors use to make the most of every communication opportunity. Through favorite moments from movies and TV, you’ll learn to: – Better understand what people really want – Create more authentic connections with audiences – Find, shape and tell more compelling stories – Express ideas more visually for greater impact – Tap into the power of emotion – Perform better in meetings, presentations, job interviews and networking events

2:00 pm

Membership Tips & Tricks From Around the DistrictChallenges? Successes? Every Chapter has them. Now. Let’s share them. And learn from them. As the incoming leaders of your Chapters, you will walk away from this interactive panel discussion hearing from the seasoned leadership of local Chapters throughout the Midwest District on what has worked, what has challenged – and what windows are the best ones to crack open even further. We will survey all Registrants prior to the event, to submit one Success and one Challenge their Chapter is currently facing – and use this information to shape a conversation that is relevant, relatable … and provides take-away value.

3:00 pm

Leadership Lessons: The Needs of People in GroupsCongratulations, you’ve been elected to a leadership position in your chapter – now what? What exactly is a leader, anyway? And if you lead, will anyone follow? How do you balance the wishes and needs of multiple groups of people and get everyone moving together in harmony? Understanding the dynamics of disparate people in groups is key to being a leader and having a successful chapter. Learn to understand the unique interactions and needs of people in groups and how to get everyone to coexist peacefully as you build a strong, unified chapter.

4:00 pm

What Does Your Leadership Action Plan Look Like? Not Sure Yet? Let Us Help! In this small group session, we will direct you through an action-plan focused session, where you will walk away with three key takeaways to guide your Chapter through the rest of 2015 – and onward. 1. Your Chapter’s Core “Brand” Distinction: JOB 1 – Defining WHY your Chapter does what it does and WHO you want to be to your member professionals. Are you a social networking organization or a professional development organization? Is your primary goal to provide your members with actionable tools – or simply focus on information-sharing? Are cutting-edge strategies what your membership is looking for – or traditional tactics? Today, more than ever, professionals have less “disposable” time and more 24/7 demands. This drives critical selectivity in how to best allocate precious minutes in the day. As Chapter leaders, we need to be clear on the value to be gleaned by our membership. Because, clearly defined distinction will drive Chapter decision-making and, ideally, ultimately drive Chapter growth. Through this exercise, we hope to arm you with considerations to take back to your Chapter leadership to clearly define your Chapter’s Brand distinction in order to make the short list of professional membership alternatives in your community.2. The “R” word – recruitment – is everyone’s responsibility in your chapter. Even if you have a membership chair, it takes a strategic plan and the involvement of everyone in your chapter to communicate to potential members how joining PRSA will benefit their career. Knowing how to determine the needs of current and potential members beyond just annual surveys is key to delivering relevant content.3. It’s not enough to recruit new members – you have to keep them. Learn to develop a 30-60-180 activation and retention plan for new and existing members. And how do you turn those members into the future leaders of your chapter? The same way you retain them. It’s not magic – it’s your secret weapon – your members.

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About the Midwest District

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is the world’s largest and foremost organization of public relations professionals. Its membership is organized into 10 regions, called districts. The Midwest District comprises 13 chapters across 8 states (IA, IL, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD, WI).